"I accept responsibility...unfortunate that this had to come in the family": Yugendra Pawar on contesting against Ajit Pawar from Baramati

By Tanya Chugh
Pune [Maharashtra], October 26 : Despite familial ties, Yugendra Pawar, Sharad Pawar-led NCP candidate, is set to contest the Maharashtra assembly elections against his uncle Ajit Pawar from Baramati.
Yugendra Pawar is the grandson of Sharad Pawar and will be making his political debut in the Maharashtra Assembly elections gto be held on November 20, 2024.
Speaking to ANI, when asked about him contesting election against his own uncle who has won this seat seven times, he said, "I feel it is quite sad, quite unfortunate that this had to come in the family. Not in Vidhan Sabha but it started in Lok Sabha and we were always together and even the incumbent MLA was always under the guidance of founder of the party and family patriarch Sharad Pawar Sahab. What happened all of India has seen. The party split and the symbol was given to them by the election commission."
Baramati will see another Pawar versus Pawar contest, after Supriya Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar, defeated Sunetra Pawar, wife of Ajit Pawar, during the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year. Notably, Ajit Pawar split the NCP in June 2023.
Yugendra Pawar further added, "This was unfortunate but all of us in the family decided that we need to stay with Pawar Sahab because he is the founder of the NCP, he is the patriarch of the family and it is because of him that not only Baramati but everybody around also prospered."
Yugendra Pawar feels that the fight against his own uncle won't be tough but won't be easy either. He said, "I don't think it will be tough but I don't even think that it will be easy either. But initially Pawar Sahab was supporting Ajit Pawar, we fondly call him Dada but people of Baramati in large numbers are behind Pawar Sahab and that is what they showed in Lok Sabha. They will show this in the upcoming assembly as well as other elections also."
On his political debut from Baramati he said, "It is very satisfying, I am quite happy and I humbly accept the responsibility given to me by the party and respectable Pawar Sahab, the state president Jayant Patil and as well as our Working President Supriya Tai Sule," he said.
In its first list, Nationalist Congress party (Sharad Pawar faction) has fielded 12 sitting MLAs, who remained loyal to him when the party split last year. The party declared its first list of 45 candidates on Thursday. It has been allotted 85 seats in the seat-sharing arrangement among the three parties in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition.
The Baramati candidate further emphasized on various issues that need to be addressed in the region.
"There are lot of issues, there are a range of problems that need to be taken care off.Like crime has increased not only in Baramati but all of Maharashtra. Then there is also a local issue like the old people or we call them Gao Pudharis, these local netas or the sewaks have not been changed for quite some time. They have not been the way a lokPratinidhi should behave. That needs to change somewhere. We need someone who will be amongst them, somebody who will be with them, will be available, who can hear them out and that system has not only been there in Baramati for quite long time that needs to change."
He further added, "Unemployment is a very big issue in Baramati and as well as in Maharashtra. Also water is a major problem in Baramati. Today even though monsoon is going on there are close to 25 to 30 villages that still do not have drinking water. This is a drought prone area. Pawar sahab brought water to the region around 35 to 40 years ago but after that not a single irrigation scheme has been brought to Baramati because of which a lot of villages today also are still drought prone. We have a river over here called the Nira, the water is so polluted that even though we have water we cannot spread it to where it is actually needed."
Pawar also spoke about the controversies going around the reservation system in the country. "Reservation is something that was given to us by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and I feel like there are certain sections in society that still do need them. It will still be useful to them and our MP from Baramati Supriya Tai sulai has also spoken on this issue vastly in Parliament and ask for reservation for certain sections so I personally also support her stand and our party's stand on this issue," he said.
Yugendra Pawar has been around all the villages in Baramati before contesting the election and plans to go around the area again after two days. To this he added, "Pawar sahab is my mentor, my guide or margdarshak. He always tells me that you should go amongst people, you should not only focus on big cities or the big villages but it's important to go in small wadis or vasti. When I go there people tell me after Pawar Sahab nobody else has ever reached out to them. Being there you get to see the constituency and the issues, the problem that people are facing. I like to be on feild and to not sit on desk or computer."